Justin Ross' Google Profile

I was born on May 25, 1990, in San Diego. I started my life as a pair partner! (I was born along with my twin brother, Tristan.) I have an older sister too, April, who is 23.

Like my dance partner, Kassy, my heritage is a diverse international mix including some Indonesian/Malaysian, Black American, Syrian, Swedish, Irish and Austrian. We've got family spread across the Diaspora, and my mixed international ancestry has given me a greater awareness of global cultures.

I began skating when I was seven years old. We live just a block away from the San Diego Ice Arena, and my mom thought it would be a good activity for my siblings and me to do during San Diego's long, hot summers. I took a number of skating school classes, and practiced a lot during weekend and after school public sessions. For the last seven years I have thoroughly enjoyed participating in the elaborately-produced San Diego Ice Arena Holiday Shows with my friends. I first began competing in ISI in 2004, and made the move to USFS after I joined Kassy in dance, and began my USFS testing. This will be my third year competing in USFS Novice Men's event. I've included a few competition shots in my photo album.

In 2005, Kassy invited me to join her in forming an Ice Dancing team.  We began as a Juvenile division team, and then enjoyed two years together at the Intermediate level, and then two years at the Novice Division -- topped off by our first trip to US National Championships in Spokane, WA this last January. And now we've made the move to the Junior level, and are working on our sixth season together. I'm enjoying it a lot and we've evolved tremendously over the last few years, as you can tell if you take a look at our photos page, organized by season.

Since joining Kassy as an ice dancing partner in June 2005, I've worked hard to climb the ladder of USFSA figure skating tests. We've been working together now for five years. We passed our Junior Free Dance test. I've passed my Senior Moves in the Field test and my Gold dances. Now, on to the Internationals! I am continuing to acquire additional freestyle skating skills too; I'm also a competitive Novice Freestyle and Artistic show program skater.

I have five years of experience working as a Junior Figure Skating Coach at the San Diego Ice Arena, teaching SDIA classes from the Tot Starter level to FS 6, as well as specialized classes such as jumps and spins and ice dancing.  I also give private figure skating lessons and prop ice dancers through their USFS ice dancing tests.  Contact me for more information, costs and scheduling.

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It seems sometimes that my entire days are spent on the ice, between our long practices, and my job as Junior Coach at the San Diego Ice Arena. And sometimes, I even go back and skate the Friday evening teen-public session too! (Could that be 14 hours on the ice in one day?) You gotta love it! Which I do.

But once my skates come off, I love to read or go shopping for new music and books, and go for coffee at Starbucks. Most of all, I like to meet people and talk with them.

Once our team training time is completed each day, I'm working on continuing to develop my individual skating skills. I graduated from High School in 2008 and am pursuing an AA Degree in Dance and Choreography at San Diego Mesa College. I'm taking all kinds of dance classes, including American Street Hip Hop, Ballroom, Jazz, and Modern Dance. Skating and dance training are my main occupations these days. I dance in a variety of San Diego Mesa College dance exhibitions each semester. But I'm also very interested in music. I've played the clarinet since the 4th grade, and in 2004, I switched to the baritone horn. I've enjoyed travelling to Hawaii and Colorado with band. After band, I'm also quite fond of American Sign Language, and love to present silent comic monologues. I enjoy both English and History too.

My ambition is to become a professional skating coach when I'm older. I really enjoy mentoring younger skaters.